US Patent Application Publication 2005/0277833 to Williams, Jr., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for handling, mixing, dispensing and/or injecting a mixture into an individual during a medical procedure. The mixture contains pharmaceutical agents and/or radiopharmaceutical agents. Also described is a mixing device capable of diluting a radiopharmaceutical agent with, for instance, a diluent, for altering a radiation dose emitted by the radiopharmaceutical agent.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0203389 to Williams, Jr., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for an operator to control an injection device and imaging equipment from a common control console. The injection device may be used to administer a contrast medium into a patient so that imaging equipment can acquire internal images of the patient. An injection system is bundled with software and/or hardware that is used to modify an existing imaging control console so that it can be used to operate both the injection device and imaging device. In one embodiment, the common control console can access stored protocols that can contain operational parameters for the injection device, the imaging device, or both.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,142 to Lee, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for dispersing quantities of radioactive material at a user location. Billing is accomplished by monitoring the decay of material and the degree of activity following each user withdrawal.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0261938 to Silverbrook et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for authenticating a pharmaceutical product, the pharmaceutical product being associated with packaging having disposed thereon or therein coded data including a number of coded data portions, each coded data portion being indicative of an identity of the pharmaceutical product and at least part of a digital signature of at least part of the identity. The method includes having a computer system receive indicating data from a sensing device, the sensing device being responsive to sensing of the coded data to generate indicating data at least partially indicative of the identity of the pharmaceutical product and the signature part. The computer system determines the identity at least one determined signature part and uses these to authenticate the pharmaceutical product.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0261936 to Silverbrook et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for allowing a user to interact with a pharmaceutical product, the pharmaceutical product associated with packaging having disposed thereon or therein coded data, at least some of the coded data being indicative of at least an identity. The method includes having a computer system receive indicating data from a sensing device, in response to sensing of the coded data, and determine, using the indicating data, at least one action. The computer system then performs the action associated with the pharmaceutical product, the action including at least one of providing information to a user; updating tracking information relating to the pharmaceutical product; performing a transaction relating to the pharmaceutical product; authenticating the pharmaceutical product; and receiving feedback from the user.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,882,338 and 6,019,745 to Gray, which are incorporated herein by reference, describe a medical syringe comprising a cylindrical barrel having therein a plunger which can be axially driven by a plunger rod. The plunger rod passes through an aperture in the center of a finger grip having two finger grip projections at opposite sides thereof. A data carrier means in the form of an electrically or magnetically operable device is mounted near the end of one of the two finger grip projections, with preferably a device mounted near the end of each finger grip projection. The device carries data relating to the medicament contained or to be contained within the syringe, and can be read by a suitably adapted syringe pump when the syringe is mounted thereon to be driven by the syringe pump.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,970,735 to Uber, III et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a system for producing a contrast-enhanced medical image of a patient, including a source of a contrast or enhancement medium, a pressurizing unit in fluid connection with the source of contrast or enhancement medium, an energy source operable to apply energy to a region of the patient, an imaging unit providing a visual display of an internal view of the patient based upon a signal resulting from the energy applied to the region of the patient, and a control unit. In an embodiment, the signal is affected by a condition of the contrast or enhancement medium in the patient. To control an imaging procedure, the control unit adjusts the condition of the contrast or enhancement medium in the patient based upon the signal. A communication interface preferably enables information between an injector subsystem and an imaging subsystem.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,781,442, 6,671,563, 6,915,170, and 6,731,989 to Engleson et al., which are incorporated herein by reference, describe a care management system in which the management of the administration of care for patients is automated. Hospital information systems are monitored and the information from those systems is used in verifying the administrations of care to patients. The care management system monitors ongoing administrations for progress and automatically updates records and provides alarms when necessary. The care management system is modular in nature but is fully integrated among its modules. Particular lists of data, such as the termination times of all ongoing infusions, provide hospital staff current information for increased accuracy and efficiency in planning. Features include the automatic provision of infusion parameters to pumps for accurate and efficient configuration of the pump, and providing an alarm when an unscheduled suspension of an infusion exceeds a predetermined length of time. A passive recognition system for identifying patients and care givers is described.
US Patent Application Publication 2003/0055685 to Cobb et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for monitoring administration of a medical product within a delivery device using a medicine data storage device attached to the delivery device, which includes a product identifier identifying the medical product and an intended patient identifier identifying a patient intended to receive the medical product. Before administering the medical product to an individual patient, the product identifier and the intended patient identifier are uploaded into a reader, and a patient identifier is accessed from the reader's memory or uploaded from a patient identification device associated with the individual patient into the reader. The patient identifier is compared with the intended patient identifier to determine whether the individual patient is intended to receive the medical product. Once it is confirmed that the individual patient is intended to receive the medical product, the medical product is administered to the individual patient.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0131270 to Weil et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a system including a radiation treatment agent to treat tissue in response to received X-ray radiation and an identifier associated with the radiation treatment agent. The identifier may be usable to identify a radiation treatment plan. In some embodiments, a radiation treatment plan associated with a patient is generated, the radiation treatment plan is associated with an identifier and a patient identifier identifying the patient, a radiation treatment agent is prepared for delivery to the patient according to the radiation treatment plan, and the radiation treatment agent is associated with the identifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,985,870 to Martucci et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a medication delivery system comprising a medical container holding a prescribed medication to be delivered to a patient, a tag adapted to be worn by the patient, a handheld computing device, and an electronic medication delivery device. Data on the medication is contained in a first label on the medication container. The first label also contains the instruction on how the medication is delivered to the patient, including the appropriate settings for an electronic medication delivery device for delivering the medication to the patient. Patient data is contained in a second label on the tag worn by the patient. The medication data, medication delivery instruction, and patient data are provided in machine readable formats. The handheld computing device reads the medication data and the medication delivery instruction on the medication container and the patient data on the patient tag. The handheld computing device stores the information obtained and performs a matching check to confirm that the medication data matches with the patient data. Upon a confirmed match, it transmits the medication delivery instruction to the electronic medication delivery device, which downloads the instruction, programs the delivery device, and prompts an operator to begin delivering the medication to the patient according to the downloaded instruction.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0029277 to Tachibana, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a drug container having an identification tag fixed or detachably provided at a predetermined position of the container, the tag having recorded thereon drug data on a kind and a concentration of a drug, and upper and/or lower limits of a flow rate for continuous infusion, or time and flow rate for one-shot administration.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0277911 to Stewart et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for programming a medical therapy in a medical device. The medical device has a controller, a memory, a processor, and an input device. The memory is preloaded with at least one of a plurality of patient profiles and condition profiles. The memory is further preloaded with an associated medication therapy for a plurality of the profiles. The input device receives profile data, comprising at least one of a patient profile data and a condition profile data for a specific patient, and the processor processes the received profile data and provides as output one of the preloaded medication therapies based on the processed profile data.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,155 to Sluis, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an ultrasound imaging system including a data entry device that reads storage media that is assigned to each patient on which the system is to be used or the operator of the system to obtain ultrasound images. The storage media, which comprises a barcode, smartcard, or personal digital assistant, contains patient identifying information. The patient or procedure identifying information is used to access a digital requisition that is referenced by the patient identifying information. The digital requisition is stored in a disk drive included in the ultrasound imaging system or in a clinical information system accessed through a communication link included in the ultrasound imaging system. The digital requisition includes information pertaining to an ultrasound examination procedure that is to be performed on the patient, which is used to automatically set up the ultrasound imaging system. The digital requisition may also include the patient's medical history or information about the patient that can be associated with ultrasound images obtained from the patient.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0121505 to Metz et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes patient-centric data acquisition protocol selection systems and methods, and identification tags therefor. A patient-centric data acquisition protocol selection system comprises a programmable identification tag capable of allowing predetermined information about a patient to be stored therein and retrieved therefrom; a medical imaging system capable of communicating with the programmable identification tag; and programming associated with the medical imaging system for selecting an optimal data acquisition protocol. The medical imaging system reads information from the programmable identification tag and then the programming selects an optimal data acquisition protocol based, at least in part, on the predetermined information about the patient that is stored in the programmable identification tag.
PCT Publication WO 04/004787 to Van Naemen et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method for dispensing individual doses of a radiopharmaceutical solution, which consists of a radioactive parent solution diluted with a diluting solution. Also described is a computer-generated dose dispenser for dispensing individual doses of a radiopharmaceutical solution at a specified speed. The method and device are described as being particularly suitable for use in the field of nuclear medicine, and more in particular for use for PET scan applications.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,155 to de la Huerga, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes techniques for administering a prescribed medication to a patient. A medication administration system and apparatus dispense the prescribed medication, verify that the medication is given to a correct patient by an authorized healthcare worker, and track and record the administration of the medication. The system utilizes a workstation connected to a database containing prescribed medication dose information for various patients. A healthcare worker uses the workstation to manually or automatically dispenses the medication the portable container. An information device is secured to the portable container during transport and administration of the medication to the intended patient. The information device prevents access to the medication or warns the healthcare worker of a potential error if the medication is delivered to the wrong patient or administered by an unauthorized healthcare worker. The information device records actual consumption information, and delivers this information back the workstation database or to a hospital or pharmacy database.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,317,506 to Coutre et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an infusion management and pumping system. Infusion prescriptions are generated and monitored by a pharmacy management system. Labels for each infusion to be given to a patient are generated and printed in a barcode format. Each label contains data regarding a prescribed infusion program, including the drug or drugs to be infused, the infusion regimen, the expiration date, and the patient to whom the infusion is to be administered. The management system checks for incompatibilities between drugs that are being prescribed for simultaneous infusion. Each label generated by the management system is attached to the container which holds the infusion solution. The data on the label is transferred to an infusion pumping system by a barcode reader at the infusion pumping system. The pumping system checks that all necessary data has been entered. During operation, the pumping system checks for a variety of alarm conditions and stores any alarms in a ranking according to urgency. The infusion pumping system is responsive to remote or biofeedback instructions to alter the planned infusion program. Central computer records processing receives infusion data and provides infusion, inventory, and use analysis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,863 to Matsuno et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an automatic radioisotope filling apparatus, which is equipped with a radioisotope vial containing a radioisotope solution, a saline vial containing a physiological saline solution, a dilution vial to which a predetermined amount of the radioisotope solution and a predetermined amount of the physiological saline solution are to be transferred to prepare a diluted radioisotope solution, a radiation detector for measuring the radioactive intensity of the diluted radioisotope solution prepared in the dilution vial, and a plurality of label vials containing a drug to be labeled.
US Patent Application Publication 2004/0051368 to Caputo et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a system for delivering medical fluid to a patient. The system includes a medical container including a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag storing data related to the medical fluid therein. A RF reader receives data signals transmitted from the RFID tag that include a desired flow rate for delivering the fluid to the intended patient. A pump coupled to the reader includes a pumping mechanism for pumping the medical fluid from the container, and a pump controller for receiving the data including the desired flow rate from the reader. The pump controller automatically controls the pumping mechanism to pump the medical fluid from the medical container at the desired flow rate based upon the data.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0171815 to Vanderveen, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a centralized medication management system for monitoring, managing and controlling medication delivery from a central location. A central computer displays medication orders and ongoing medication administrations for a health care facility. The central computer checks medication delivery against a database of medication administration guidelines, including guidelines for medication interactions with other medications and with patient conditions, and provides an indication of any detected incompatibilities. A clinician at the central location may adjust the medication administration parameters in response to detected incompatibilities and communicate with a caregiver at the point of care to provide decision support. In an embodiment, the central location is a pharmacy at the healthcare facility.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0240441 to Suzuki, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a hospital information system. The system enables an RF reader, comprising a personal digital assistant (PDA), to read tag information recorded by RF tags either attached to, or embedded in, various types of a patient wrist bands, injection medicine bottles, patient charts, and medical instrument cases. The PDA transmits a query to a server via a wireless LAN for confirmation from the server. The server collates the query with the content of a medical practice order recorded in its data base, and registers a completion of instructed operation for an instructed item in the database, and replies with a notification if the transmitted readout data from the PDA is correct. If the readout data is incorrect, the PDA is notified and instructed to perform another reading.
US Patent Application Publication 2001/0049608 to Hochman, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an automated drug administering system such an injection device or infusion pump, which is provided with means for reading information from a container holding the drug. The information is then checked for accuracy before the administration of the drug. Optionally, an ID tag on the patient and/or the health care professional providing the drug may also be scanned and checked. The information thus gathered is sent to another station where it is logged for future use and analyzed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,743,202 to Hirschman et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes apparatus for sharing information on syringe configuration between syringes and injector systems, comprising a storage system to store encoded information on syringe configuration. The encoded information is readable by a detection circuit in an injector. In one embodiment, the storage system is an electronic storage system in which information relevant to the syringe configuration is encoded. A method comprises the step of conveying syringe configuration information to a detector in an injector for use with the syringe.
US Patent Application Publication 2005/0148869 to Masuda, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a liquid syringe having various kinds of data items recorded in a two-dimensional code format. A liquid injector optically reads the two-dimensional codes, decodes them, and executes a predetermined operations corresponding to the decoded results. Recording, for example, a variable pattern for the liquid of interest in the two-dimensional code format on the liquid syringe makes it possible for the liquid injector to inject the liquid in accordance with the predetermined variable pattern.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,346,886 de la Huerga, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes an electronic identification apparatus having data storage memory on board a removable transceiver device. The transceiver device also includes a processor and a transponder for receiving information pertaining to the object/person to which it is attached and storing the information in memory. The transceiver also transmits stored data to a control computer or the external devices. The transceiver is mounted on a base, such as a wristband, and the apparatus includes an attachment sensor indicating whether the transceiver is attached to the base. If the transceiver has been removed from the base, the processor performs one or more lockdown operations to prevent the stored data from being used in connection with another object or person. The lockdown operations include clearing the contents of the memory, disabling access to the memory, suppressing the display of stored data and activating an alarm.
US Patent Application Publication 2004/0156081 to Bril et al., which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a color-coded signature, for securing documents or encrypting images. The encrypted image comprises an array of printed positions formed using a group of inks each of which has a predetermined spectrum. The positions are selected to form a predetermined image, either real or virtual, when the image is viewed through an optical processor. The optical processor may further use a distorted grating or a distorted lens. The correct image is the spectrum, as distorted by the optical processor. An image formed using inks having the same colors as experienced by the human eye, or even by a standard spectrometer will fail to form the correct predetermined image.
The following patents and patent application publications, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, may be of interest:
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